Word of the Day

Fudgel

Sometimes, people feel like it is more important to LOOK productive than to actually BE productive.

This is NOT good.

During the pandemic, many companies installed productivity software to monitor their employees working remotely. And some of that software just recorded the frequency that the mouse and/or keyboard were active.

Of course, this is not how many people work. Sometimes, we need to study a schematic. Sometimes, we need to read a page. Sometimes, we need to think. Sometimes, we need to jot things down on paper.

The monitoring software made many of the employees feel disrespected. A few even bought devices that jiggled the mouse every few seconds, so that they could appear constantly productive. That continued a slide in the mutual respect and trust on work teams.

Don’t reinforce fudgeling behaviors in your team members. Help your people improve their productivity and work quality. Respect their efforts, and don’t micromanage their processes when those processes lead to high-quality results. Convey your expectations for honesty (no mouse-jiggling machines, no fudging timesheets, etc.) and encourage people to be productive during their time at work, but to then leave work and relax and recharge.

I hope you are all able to relax and recharge this weekend.

(word source: https://www.businessinsider.com/best-old-english-words-that-no-longer-exist-2017-3)